Tijuana, Mexico: The first scheduled hearings under a new Trump administration policy to make asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases wind through US immigration courts held in San Diego on Tuesday.
The initial appearances come three days before a federal judge in San Francisco hears arguments by advocacy groups to halt enforcement of the policy.
The policy went into effect on 29 January in San Diego and was expanded last week to Calexico, California.
Initial asylum hearings in downtown San Diego are scheduled within 45 days of making a claim, and administration officials hope to put them on a fast track.
On the day of their hearing, asylum seekers are told to report to the border crossing for temporary admission to the US and a ride to court.
If their cases aren't completed, they are escorted back to Mexico to continue waiting.
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The change has been introduced slowly, with an average of 40 people a week being returned to Tijuana from San Diego in the first six weeks.
Mexico has agreed to accept up to 120 a week.
One asylum-seeker from Honduras reporting for his first hearing on Tuesday said his wait had been problem-free.
The man explained his home country was wracked by gang-fueled violence, and many asylum-seekers like him worry about retribution against relatives still there - or themselves if they are deported.
Some migrants have had trouble finding legal help.
A list of no or low-cost legal aid providers that was given to them by US officials includes organisations that refuse to offer advice on Mexican soil or have had to overcome serious reservations about doing so.
Administration officials say they intend to expand the policy along the entire US-Mexico border.
The shift comes as more asylum-seeking families from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador arrive at the border as they flee pervasive gang violence and poverty.
The administration hopes that forcing people to wait in Mexico will discourage weak claims and help reduce a court backlog of more than 800,000 cases.
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Critics say the policy forces asylum seekers to wait in dangerous environments such as Tijuana, which had more than 2,500 homicides last year, and invites other problems, including difficulty finding legal advice.
